The present invention relates generally to telecommunications, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for delivery of information over multiple suppressed ringing physical channels.
The advantages of using multiple physical channels to transmit information are known. One primary advantage of delivery of information over multiple physical channels is that the amount of information that can be delivered increases proportionately with an increase in the number of physical channels for delivery. The advantages of multiple physical channels are exploited in the use of multiple line modems and other multiple line data communications equipment. Multiple line modems and other data communications equipment use multiple telephone lines to collectively provide a high-speed data path. With the advent of the Internet and other data communications needs, the necessity of high-speed paths is tremendous.
One problem with using multiple telephone lines to provide multiple physical channels in data communications is the complexity of control required to coordinate use of multiple telephone lines. In particular, features associated with a telephone line, such as call forwarding and call blocking, may make coordination of multiple lines complex, and in some cases not feasible, especially where the multiple lines are also used for voice. Also, call establishment is complicated.
Suppressed ringing telephone connections are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,694, issued to Garland, entitled xe2x80x9cTelemetry Access Arrangement,xe2x80x9d discloses a suppressed ringing telephone connection for accessing a meter at a customer premises with a data accessing device. A suppressed ringing connection allows the two units to exchange signals without alerting a customer via ringing and without regard to certain features assigned to the telephone line.
The present invention uses the advantages of suppressed ringing connections over telephone lines to address the shortcomings of using multiple telephone lines to provide multiple physical channels in data communications.
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus for data communications includes a server, a customer premises equipment, such as a modem, computer or data communications terminal, and a plurality of telephone lines connected to the customer premises equipment. The server includes a plurality of channels for data communications. A suppressed ringing connection couples the plurality of channels of the server with the plurality of telephone lines connected to the customer premises equipment, such that data communications is accomplished between the server and the customer premises equipment. The server establishes the suppressed ringing connection by placing calls over trunks, channels or lines designated to make suppressed ringing connections. Each of the plurality of channels from the server is directed to one of the plurality of telephone lines connected to the customer premises equipment in one arrangement. In another arrangement, a router/multiplexor receives the plurality of channels from the server and distributes and multiplexes the channels for delivery to the plurality of telephone lines connected to the customer premises equipment.
A method in accordance with the present invention includes the step of determining how many lines are available at a customer premises for data communications. Then suppressed ringing connections are completed to the lines available at the customer premises. After the suppressed ringing connections are established, data is transferred over the available lines using the suppressed ringing connections. The number of lines available for data communications at a customer premises is transmitted during a call from the customers premises to a server or is pre-subscribed in advance. A customer premises equipment that is connected to the plurality of lines at the customer premises may further route the data received over the suppressed ringing connections to other devices at the customer premises.